2 Dana Point Leaders to Face Recall : Politics: Group collects enough signatures to force a vote on the mayor and a councilman, who are criticized for supporting Headlands project and new ball fields.

Orange County’s next local power struggle will be waged in Dana Point.

City Clerk Sharon L. Waits certified Monday that recall petitions against Mayor Karen Lloreda and City Councilman Harold R. Kaufman have enough signatures from registered voters to force an election, probably in March.

The recall campaign is backed by a group of dissatisfied voters, Citizens Help Against Non-Representative Government and Excesses, or CHANGE, who assert that Lloreda and Kaufman ignore the views of city residents and vote to misuse public funds.

The pair have drawn criticism for supporting a controversial resort development at the 121-acre Dana Point Headlands near Dana Point Harbor and voting to spend more than $1 million to build ball fields in a neighborhood where there is opposition to the plan.

“The Headlands was the lightning rod,” said Geoffrey Lachner, co-chairman of CHANGE, a group of about 50 members. “But we just came to the point where we were tired of taking abuse in our own city.”

Lloreda and Kaufman say the recall effort has needlessly divided the small coastal city of 36,000 people that incorporated in 1989. Lloreda, a Capistrano Beach resident who was elected to the council in 1990, said recalls only “fuel the general anger many voters have against government.”

“Most of the people I talk to are disgusted with the whole thing,” Lloreda said. “They consider it petty bickering and want us to do the job they elected us to do.”

The Headlands proposal, which included a hotel and more than 300 homes, was approved by a previous council, including Lloreda, and then rescinded by a local referendum.

Lloreda has said she supported the Headlands development because it would be an economic benefit to Dana Point and because the landowners, Chandis Securities Inc. and the M.H. Sherman Co., had agreed to scale back the proposed number of residences.

Chandis Securities, a firm that oversees the financial holdings of the Chandler family, is a major stockholder in Times Mirror Co., publisher of the Los Angeles Times.

Kaufman wasn’t seated on the council until last June, after the council’s vote on the Headlands. However, he said he “favors the project, although I think it needed more open space.”

Kaufman called the recall attempt nothing but “local politics.”

“It’s unfortunate we are wasting money on this,” Kaufman said. “I’m sorry we are going to use our energy to fight this battle, but we are going to wage a serious campaign.”

Kaufman, Lloreda and Councilwoman Judy Curreri formed the council majority that has earmarked $1.1 million to upgrade a ball field at Dana Hills High School so it can be used by local youth and adult sports groups.

While they say the proposal will bring much-needed facilities to the city, the plan was criticized by CHANGE members because the city does not own the land and because the surrounding neighbors did not want the project.

“We need a council that is truly in touch with its constituents,” said Cindy Geiger, treasurer of CHANGE.

Dana Point’s recall is the latest of a bevy of campaigns to oust local officials. Two weeks ago, an attempted recall of three Cypress City Council members was rejected at the polls, a recall of three Irvine council members failed to qualify in October and two threatened recalls of county supervisors never materialized.

At the state level, however, Assemblywoman Doris Allen (R-Cypress) is facing a recall backed by Republicans who say she has conspired with the Democrats to become Speaker of the Assembly, a post she held only a short time. That vote, including the possible election of a replacement for Allen, will be held Nov. 28.

In Dana Point, the final count of petition signatures showed that recall proponents, who needed 3,653 valid signatures to recall each of the two council members, had 3,685 to oust Kaufman and 3,680 to remove Lloreda, Waits said.

The City Council will be asked to call an election at its Nov. 28 meeting. Council members are expected to place the recall on the March presidential primary ballot, Waits said.

Candidates to replace Lloreda and Kaufman, if they are recalled, must file appropriate papers with the city clerk between Dec. 4 and Dec. 29, Waits said.